HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 13
Environmental Initiatives Committee
Regular Meeting Minutes
DATE: Thursday, August 13, 2015
TIME: 7:00 PM
LOCATION: Parks & Recreation Building,
26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hill
1. Roll Call. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 with a quorum present. April
Anair, Aileen Lee, Peter Evans, Serena Giori in attendance.
2. Approval of Minutes. Motion by Peter Evans, seconded by April Anair passed
unanimously.
3. CCA and Statewide Water Reduction Update. Peter Evans reported that he gave
the presentation to the TC.
Role of EIC going forward.
Peter Evans and Aileen Lee were in favor of working on CCA, LAH water and energy
reduction initiatives. April Anair asked to become an associate member.
Steve Schmidt presented for discussion a new project to align LAH with California’s
strategic plan for tracking and reporting GHG (please refer to the summary of Steve’s
presentation in Public Comments below).
Motion by Peter Evans seconded by Aileen Lee to recommend the project passed
unanimously.
Public Comments. Steve Schmidt’s proposal is to transfer LAH’s existing inventories (7
years each for both Community and Municipal) to the new system at a cost to the Town
of $5000. Scope of project:
1. Transfer all our existing inventories to the new tool.
2. Complete inventories for 2013 and 2014, which have not yet been funded.
3. Establish a new set of goals, actions and metrics for 2020 or 2030 (our existing
goals were for 2015).
Background of LAH initiatives to track and report GHG:
On January 8th 2009 our Town Council unanimously approved a set of targets for
reducing GHG emissions within Los Altos Hills, as required by California's AB-
32 legislation (see history at www.LAHgreen.org).
Both the EIC and the town council agreed that a five year monitoring frequency
would be "too course" to provide meaningful feedback on our actions, so we
agreed to track GHG inventory changes annually. If we do not track our GHG
emissions and monitor the effect of our mitigation efforts, we have no way to
know what emission sources to focus on, what is working, and what is not.
Our GHG reduction targets were set for 2015. The target year is now upon us, and
we need to review our progress and set new targets next year.
In order to accurately assess the local impact of major initiatives like CCE we
need current & accurate data.
Our annual GHG inventories have provided another example of our town's desire
to take leadership roles in environmental issues. This aligns well with other areas
where we have demonstrated leadership, including community waste (highest
diversion rates), renewable energy (at Town Hall and within our community),
building codes (GreenPoints enhancements), and EV infrastructure (charging
network).
4. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20.
NOTICE TO PUBLIC
Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the Environmental Initiatives Committee regarding
any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection in the City Clerk’s office located at
Town Hall, 26379 Fremont Road, Los Altos Hills, California during normal business hours.